


Wild and Wonderful

by DesertVixen



Category: Take Me Home Country Roads - John Denver (Song)
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 12:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18872899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: Take me home, country roads...





	Wild and Wonderful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rubynye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubynye/gifts).



She had always lived in the city. 

She had never traveled over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house, because her grandparents lived four subway stops and a short cab ride away.  


She had played at parks in the city, of course, but there was something tame and civilized about a city park. They were manicured and polished, even when they had sections that were supposedly “wild”, and Bianca never forgot that they were bounded by buildings and fences. Not that she didn’t enjoy a day spent in the park, lounging under a tree with a picnic basket, but they were as much a part of the city as the large department store her family owned.

Of course, when it had been time to go to college, she had chosen to stay in the city and attend the very good school that was five subway stops away. After her freshman year, she was able to persuade her parents to let her move on campus, so that she could enjoy the college experience more thoroughly.

She’d been a sophomore when she met Bernard.

Initially, she had been interested because he was so unlike any of the young men she had known. He was from West Virginia, the first member of his family to leave the state and go to school. But, as she had gotten to know him, she had fallen for him. Maybe it was the picnic he took her to in the park, although he had apologized for the fact that the fried chicken was not as good as his mother’s.  


They had dated for the next three years, although they had often spent summers apart. Bernard had scholarships, but he couldn’t pass up a solid summer job, especially one that let him be outside. Bianca didn’t need to work, although she often did in the department store because she enjoyed it. There were always trips and social things that her parents wanted her to do, and she found it hard to say no when they held the purse strings.

Bianca was aware that her parents didn’t entirely like Bernard, not when they were viewing him through the lens of “future son-in-law”. They invited him to events and treated him warmly, but Bianca knew her mother was not-so-secretly hoping that she would develop an interest in some of the nice young men they threw in her path.

It wasn’t going to happen. She had her degree in hand, and she had managed to save money over her junior and senior years. Her parents had thrown a lovely graduation party for her, but Bianca had been forced to disappoint them about her mother’s plan to travel to the islands.

Instead, she and Bernard were taking the train to Washington DC, and then she was finally going to meet his family. He had a cousin who worked outside the capital who stored his truck while he was at school, and they planned to visit for a day or two before they headed to West Virginia.

*** 

Bianca had never ridden in a pickup truck before. It was surprisingly comfortable to sit up in the seat and be able to see everything. Bernard was much happier to be driving than he was when they used public transit in the city. He was singing along softly with the music on the radio, about country roads taking him home. It wasn’t her home, but Bianca was content to see where the country roads would take them together.

Bianca couldn’t stop watching the scenery. Everything was so incredibly green, so deeply green. The "Welcome to West Virginia” sign had proclaimed it “wild and wonderful”, and Bianca had to agree. This was nothing like any park she had ever been in. There was a feeling of age about the forest, as if it might have been the very same forest that Bernard’s ancestors had come to, all those years ago. It was old in a way the city could never be.

There were the dark green vines, like ivy, that seemed to cling to everything. Bernard called it “kudzu” and it seemed to be everywhere, growing in densely entwined piles around telephone poles and fallen trees and, well, pretty much everything in its path. It was a little disconcerting, especially when she saw a pile of kudzu that seemed to be rustling.

There were squirrels darting around in the trees, not very similar to their city cousins who grew fat on the detritus of people. Deer appeared on the side of the road, pricking up their ears at the sound of vehicles but not fleeing in fear. Birds flew and sang, very different from the plump and slightly arrogant pigeons Bianca was used to encountering. 

It was a leisurely drive over hilly and twisty roads, and Bianca found herself a little disappointed when they pulled up outside a little town. Bernard had hardly stopped the truck and opened his door when it seemed the rambling house discharged a flood of people. Bianca was lost in the introductions and well-wishes and the incredible smells coming from the kitchen. She had expected to feel a little self-conscious, but the welcome was so warm she forgot her apprehension.

*** 

Later, after a huge dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and sides, and quite possibly the most incredible pie she had ever eaten, Bianca and Bernard sat on the porch in the twilight. Fireflies were coming out, a sight that fascinated her as she watched the light trails start and burn out over the grass.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Bernard suggested after a moment. “I’ll take you to my hideaway.”

“In the dark?” Bianca gave him a look. “Is it safe?”

He laughed. “I’ll protect you.”

His “hideaway” turned out to be a little clearing with a small brook bubbling happily through it. She could see why he called it that, because she could have passed right by it and never known it was there. There was a moss-covered log near the creek that made a convenient backrest, and clumps of violets simply everywhere. It was quieter than the city - no cabs, no blasts of music, no people yelling at each other - but it was not silent. Bernard joked when she jumped at a sudden loud sound, then pointed to the biggest frog Bianca had ever seen. It croaked again, and Bianca became aware of other country sounds, as the nocturnal animals began their nightly rounds of hunting.

They made themselves comfortable, with his arm draped around her, and looked up at the stars. Bianca had very rarely seen stars, and certainly not like this. There were no streetlights, no lights shining out of windows, no neon. Just the stars twinkling brightly against the black velvet night.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said after a moment, cuddling against him.

“More beautiful with you here,” Bernard said softly. “It’s good to be home.”

He leaned over and kissed her, long and deep, and Bianca wound her arms around his neck. 

“Just how hidden is your hideaway?” She asked with a smile against his lips.

He let his hands wander just a little, in a way that made Bianca sigh. “Very hidden, I promise you.”

Then he dipped his head to kiss her again, and Bianca thought of the other "Welcome to West Virginia" sign she’d seen on their drive.

“West Virginia is for lovers.”

 _It certainly was_ , she thought as she moved her hands to the waistband of his jeans and heard him gasp in reaction.

It certainly was.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! It's more "inspired by" the song, but I hope it's what you wanted from your prompt. I'm a desert lover myself, but West Virginia can be very beautiful.
> 
> Bianca and Bernard, of course, are inspired by The Rescuers and their opposites attract vibe - and the fact that of course, Bianca is definitely a city mouse.
> 
> West Virginia's slogans are both "Wild and Wonderful" and "WV is for lovers".


End file.
